LinkedIn influence in the legal sector isn’t just growing – it’s maturing. The latest TBD Marketing Legal LinkedInfluencer report for Q2 2025 shows that while familiar names continue to perform strongly, a powerful wave of new voices is rising fast.
Thirty of the top 100 names are new entrants this quarter. That’s not just turnover – it’s momentum. Just a year ago, it took 1,264 likes to make the top 100. This quarter? Over 2,500. Breaking through is getting harder, and those who do are posting with sharper focus and a stronger sense of purpose than ever before.
The report also shows that influence is no longer just about a single standout voice. More firms now have teams of five or more LinkedInfluencers pulling in the same direction. That collective presence doesn’t just change how firms look from the outside – it’s shifting internal culture too, as more people realise LinkedIn isn’t just a broadcast medium. The report reveals the top ten LinkedInfluencers shaping legal LinkedIn this quarter:
- Mark Stephens CBE – Howard Kennedy, who blends politics, freedom of expression, business and humour in a feed that always has a purpose.
- Sophie Wardell – Higgs LLP, leading with compassion and clarity, highlighting others and reflecting honestly on working life.
- Jon Gregson – Weightmans, combining sharp one-liners with candid reflections on career, culture and life’s small absurdities.
- Ilana Kattan – Hogan Lovells, who uses her platform with clarity and humanity to advocate for the release of October 7th hostages.
- Emma Geale – Mills & Reeve LLP, with her warm, thoughtful reflections balancing professional insight with everyday team moments.
- David James Lister – Ward Hadaway, always steady, human posts about personal change, mentoring, parenting and showing up with care.
- James Quarmby – Stephenson Harwood LLP, making tax policy posts lucid, witty and deeply expert.
- Eloise Butterworth – Foot Anstey LLP, a breakout compliance voice making risk, culture and ethics accessible and human.
- David Hardy – CMS, great creative, visually-led posts blending personality and policy on planning, climate and law.
- Justin Farrance – A&O Shearman, posting values-led posts on access, allyship and mentoring, as founder of GROW, supporting over 10,000 aspiring professionals.
Mark says:
“I’ve always believed that being yourself isn’t a weakness in business – it’s the point. LinkedIn has become a space where you can speak plainly, push at ideas and still have fun. If it helps open up conversations around rights, justice or just makes someone think differently, then it’s doing its job.”
This quarter also welcomed a host of new entrants into the rankings, including Tomasz Zalewski – Bird & Bird, Charmian Aw – Hogan Lovells, Kate Herbert – Knights, Colin Shaw – Norton Rose Fulbright and Paulo Saragoca da Matta – DLA Piper.
The most popular post this quarter came from David Hardy, Partner in the Planning and Infrastructure team at CMS, with a total of 1,378 likes and 1,169 comments. His post struck a chord by calling out poor housing design with humour and pointed commentary. It’s a reminder that posts combining expertise, personality and authentic opinion continue to cut through.
Si Marshall, founder of the Legal LinkedInfluencer report, says:
“There’s more bench strength on Legal LinkedIn than ever before with one in eight people who work at the top 200 firms having posted in the past month alone. Too often, the legal sector is thought of as behind other sectors for adopting ideas but this report proves that no matter what flavour of content you like to consume on your morning commute or over coffee, there’s five, ten or more voices who have posted something that’ll appeal to you. ”
Elsewhere, comments continue to drive the social element of the platform. Higgs LLP tops the table for total comments among its ranked people this quarter, with over 13,200 comments across posts, reflecting their strong internal and external engagement. Howard Kennedy follows with 8,363 comments, Weightmans with 5,960, and Hogan Lovells with 3,820. Firms like Mills & Reeve, Irwin Mitchell, Norton Rose Fulbright and Foot Anstey also feature in the top ranks, showing that influence is increasingly distributed across firms rather than concentrated in one or two voices.
The report also shows timing really does matter. Posts shared between 5 and 6am perform 26% than those just an hour later.. In terms of format, images are the most common, but celebration posts – like promotions, new jobs and milestones – punch well above their weight. ext posts still perform steadily, but the highest engagement is coming from images, celebrations and documents. Video is growing too, now making up one in every sixteen posts.
The LinkedInfluencer report tracks likes and comments to give a ‘power score’ for each post and ranks the top performers in the legal sector each quarter. The methodology is simple and transparent, encouraging firms and individuals to track their own progress and understand what drives meaningful engagement.
The full Q2 2025 report is available to download now, offering insights into how influence is shifting, who is rising, which firms are leading the way, and what’s working in legal LinkedIn today.
